Novels by Vio Femio

The room was instantly filled with panic. Several nurses and doctors rushed in, quickly pushing Belva out of the ICU. "Please step outside, we need space to treat the patient!"Belva stood frozen outside, her body trembling violently as she watched the medical team working fast behind the glass. Elmer immediately pulled her close, letting Belva cry against his chest while Celine and Melinda stood stiffly nearby, both their faces deathly pale.The following minutes felt like endless hours. Until finally a doctor emerged, looking tired but slightly relieved."We managed to stabilize him again. But his condition is very critical, he's now in a coma. We can only wait and pray," the doctor explained.Belva sank weakly, and it was only Elmer holding her that kept her from collapsing to the floor. All the words Smith had just spoken before the heart monitor blared now hung unanswered. Your own birth mother brought you herself. And she didn't die of illness like everyone has always believed.

The drive to the hospital felt like it lasted centuries for Belva. She sat in the passenger seat of Elmer's car, gripping the bag on her lap tightly, her mind swirling with anger, confusion, and a fear she couldn't quite explain."How could he say Yunita's name?" Belva muttered quietly, more to herself than to Elmer. "How could Smith possibly know my birth mother's name?"Elmer gripped the steering wheel tightly, his eyes fixed on the road but his mind full of the same questions. "Maybe he knew everything from the start, Belva. Maybe he wasn't just involved in your father's company takeover — maybe he was the one who planned it all."Belva closed her eyes, trying to hold back the tears pressing to fall. "I don't know what to feel. I hate him for everything he's done to me all this time. But somehow, hearing that he collapsed and said my name before passing out... I'm still worried.""That's natural," Elmer said gently, his hand briefly reaching over to hold Belva's before returning to

Belva looked at Elmer with eyes still wet, her body stiff, still trying to hold back the turmoil that hadn't yet settled after Jonan's confession. "What do you mean, Uncle? What else do I need to know?"Elmer stepped in slowly, holding a thick brown folder he had just received from his family lawyer. His face was pale, as if he himself wasn't fully ready to accept what he'd just discovered."Sit down first, Belva," he said quietly.Belva ended her call with Jonan without another word, then sat on the sofa with trembling hands. Elmer sat across from her, opening the folder slowly."After I talked to Mrs. Ratih and heard Ziko's story about PT Wijaya Sentosa, I asked my lawyer to trace all the documents from that company's acquisition twenty years ago," Elmer explained, his voice heavy. "And I found this."He handed her an old, yellowed photocopied document. Belva took it with shaking hands, her eyes scanning every line.It was the share transfer agreement for PT Wijaya Sentosa's takeove

Belva sat frozen, still holding her phone after the call with Elmer ended. His question had felt strange, too urgent to be mere curiosity. Something was being hidden, and her instincts—as a mother and as a woman who had once been betrayed—put her on guard.She looked at Olaf, who was happily drawing at his desk, then decided to call Jonan."Belva? What's up?" Jonan's voice sounded as usual, warm and easygoing."Jonan, I need to ask you something. Seriously," Belva said, her tone firm. "Why did you give Olaf the last name Docarlo? You said it was for protection, but protection from whom? Why did it have to be your own family name?"There was a pause on the other end. Long enough that Belva almost asked if the call had dropped."Belva," Jonan's voice finally came, far more serious than usual this time, "sit down first. This isn't a conversation I can explain over the phone.""Jonan, don't stall. What's really going on?" Belva pressed, her heart pounding erratically.Jonan let out a long

Elmer was still frozen, staring at the handwriting at the bottom of the wooden box. His hand clenched tightly, his jaw hardening to hold back the boiling anger."Mrs. Ratih, who besides the two of us knew this box was here?" Elmer asked, his voice choked with emotion.Mrs. Ratih shook her head, trembling. "Only me and your late father, dear. Even I never opened this box myself, I only kept it as your father instructed.""Then how could someone have found out and taken its contents before us?" Elmer scanned the room, searching for any sign that someone had entered without Mrs. Ratih's knowledge.Mrs. Ratih paused, then her face turned pale as she recalled something. "Wait... a few months ago, a man came claiming to be a lawyer handling your father's estate. He said he wanted to check the old archives for administrative purposes. I... I let him in because he carried an official power of attorney from the Santonio family's law office."Elmer's heart pounded. "Do you remember his face?"M

That morning Belva found Elmer already dressed in his work suit, even though he usually waited for Belva and Olaf to come down for breakfast together."Do you have sudden business, Uncle?" Belva asked as she handed him a glass of water.Elmer smiled faintly, kissing Belva's forehead briefly as usual, but his eyes weren't fully present. "There are some things I need to take care of today. Please look after Olaf for me."Belva nodded even though her brow furrowed slightly. There was something different about the way Elmer spoke this morning — too careful, as if he were holding something back.Meanwhile, Elmer's car sped toward an old building on the outskirts of the city, once the office of the Santonio Foundation before it was relocated after his father's death. The building was no longer used as an office, only minimally maintained by an elderly woman named Mrs. Ratih, a former caretaker who had once worked directly under Elmer's father."Young Elmer?" Mrs. Ratih was startled to see E